Everything you need to know about Bonds and Warrants in Escambia County – Cantonment > Navarre
Nobody wants to sit in jail – that’s obvious. But sometimes the bail (or bond) set by the judge is too high, and you or your loved ones can’t post it. In those situations, a criminal defense lawyer can file a motion with the court requesting the judge to reduce your bond. Under Florida law, an excessive bond is the same thing as not having a bond. Because Florida law gives you a constitutional right to a reasonable bond in nearly all cases, an excessive bond is illegal.
A criminal defense attorney can also help you modify, not just reduce, the money portion of your bond. A criminal defense attorney can help remove bond conditions like Pre-Trial Release, GPS monitors, alcohol monitors, and no-contact provisions. For example, in most domestic violence cases, the judge is going to order that you be outfitted with a GPS monitor before you leave jail and that you do not have contact with the alleged victim. The real problem, though, is that you and your wife live together, she is not afraid of you, she wants you to come home, and she wants the charges dropped because the whole thing was a misunderstanding. In situations like this, an attorney is allowed to have contact with the alleged victim and can ask them to sign an affidavit (a sworn statement) asking the judge to remove the GPS monitor and to allow for contact between the two of you. Armed with that affidavit, your attorney can file a motion to modify your bond, asking that the judge remove the GPS monitor as a bond condition and that you and your wife can have contact with each other.
Finally, there are situations where you know that you have a no-bond warrant out for your arrest or a warrant with a high bond that you cannot afford. In situations like this, it is important to quickly contact a criminal defense attorney who can file a motion to withdraw the warrant or reduce the bond. The quicker you can do this, the better – it never makes a judge happy when you run from a warrant, and, as time passes, the less impressed the judge will be with you.
Want more info? Contact me, and we’ll discuss it in detail.
